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This handsome building in downtown Berkeley is the new home of the Rossmann and Moore law firm, formerly in San Francisco.

On July 2, after 26 years in Hayes Valley in San Francisco, Rossmann and Moore, LLP, will move to 2014 Shattuck Avenue, between Addison and University, in a two story historic building whose original occupant was the architect of the Berkeley Public Library, main and several branches. According to one source, it's the only terra cotta facade downtown. It’s the Heywood Building (1917), a City of Berkeley Landmark. At the beginning, it included offices for both its architect, James Plachek, and its owner, William H. Heywood.

The firm had expected to require a year to find worthy space for their water and land use practice. Instead realtor John Gordon pointed to this immediately-available space. One look and they knew this was the place.

Founding partner Tony Rossmann said they made the move because everyone in the office lives in the East Bay, and the three attorneys will now be able to commute by bicycle, in his own case in ten minutes. This contrasts with 45 to 60 minutes door-to-door on an average BART commute.

"The move also places me ten minutes from Boalt for my teaching there as lecturer. And five minutes from Berkeley High for swim meets and lacrosse games," Rossmann said.

He told the Planet that "We believe that downtown Berkeley offers what Hayes Valley did a quarter century ago when our office moved there: an exciting neighborhood on the edge of greatness. New developments, public, private, cultural, and UC, are all promising. As lawyers who deal in historic preservation, we are confident we can help maintain our historic post office three blocks away. And the cost of both rent and lunches will be half what we are now experiencing in the city."